A 46-year-old woman from Hoogeveen has been sentenced to twenty months in prison. This for an attempted murder of both her upstairs neighbors. Thirteen months of the sentence are conditional and the sentence is equal to the demand of the Public Prosecution Service (OM).
The suspect had been annoyed by her neighbors for months. She suffers from stress disorders and has difficulty dealing with emotions. On the evening of April 24 this year, after drinking eight cans of beer, she called the mental health institution that was treating her. She felt harassed by the neighbors and threatened to kill them with a knife.
The institution called the police. When they arrived on the scene, the woman was hiding in the toilet. The woman had a knife with her at the time, which she hid in her pants in the toilet.
The woman then stepped outside with her hands in the air. As she walked with the officers to the service car, she saw the two neighbors, a mother and son, standing outside.
The woman turned around and ran towards the neighbors with the knife in front of her chest. One of the officers tasered her, causing her to fall. The knife got stuck in the underbody of a parked car.
The intended victims were still about ten feet away from her. The judge considers it sufficiently proven that the woman had the intention to stab the neighbors with a knife, possibly resulting in death.
The greatly reduced accountability of the suspect has been taken into account. She has no criminal record, but she must undergo treatment at addiction care and cooperate in sheltered housing. She must also undergo bladder and urine checks.